People v. Turriago

In People v. Turriago, 90 N.Y.2d 77, 681 N.E.2d 350, 659 N.Y.S.2d 183 (1997), defendant was stopped for a traffic infraction. He consented to a search of his vehicle and a body was discovered. The officer testified that had the defendant refused the consent to search the vehicle, the officer would have checked the validity of his license at the scene. Such a check would have revealed, within minutes, that the defendant's license was suspended. Thus, since no other occupant of the vehicle had a license, the vehicle would have been impounded and an inventory search would have revealed the presence of the body. Thus, the People proved that a very high degree of probability existed the body would have inevitably been discovered. (See Turriago, at 86-87. (